More Than Victory

"In all these things we are more than conquerors
through Him who loved us." (Romans 8:37)

'This is more than victory. This is triumph so complete
that we not only have escaped defeat but also have
destroyed our enemies and won plunder so rich and
valuable that we can actually thank God for the battle.
When we receive from the conflict a spiritual
discipline that will greatly strengthen our faith and
establish our spiritual character, we are more than
conquerors. Temptation is like the fierce winds that
cause the mighty cedars in the mountains to sink their
roots more deeply into the soil. Our spiritual conflicts
are among our most wonderful blessings, and the
Adversary is used to train us for his own ultimate
defeat.

It was believed that the coral-building animals
instinctively built up the great reefs of the Atoll Islands
in order to protect themselves. However, it has been
shown that these organisms can only live and thrive
facing the open ocean in the highly oxygenated foam
of the combative waves.

It is commonly thought that a protected and easy life is
the best way to live. Yet the lives of all the noblest and
strongest people prove exactly the opposite and  that
the endurance of hardship is the making of the person.
It produces vitality in the one whose roots are firmly
planted in Christ.'
(Adapted from Streams in the Desert)

"As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord,
so walk ye in Him: Rooted and built up in him, and
stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught,
abounding therein with thanksgiving." (Col 2:6,7)

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in
triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads
everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him."
(2 Cor 2:14)